7 Ways to Keep Your High-Energy Dog Safe AND Satisfied During the Summer

How do you keep your high-energy dog safe AND satisfied on blazing hot summer days? Trust me, it’s definitely a challenge! As a proud pet parent to an extremely active Pharaoh Hound, though, I’ve learned a few tricks this summer to satisfy Freya’s need for speed while still keeping her safe from summer’s dark side. Read on for the things that work for us. These tips will come in handy for all dog parents, even if your canine isn’t as crazy as my Freyzie!

*This post is sponsored by Wellness® and the BlogPaws® Pet Influencer Network™. I am being compensated to help share information about the Wellness® CORE® RawRev™ raw food dog food but I only share information I feel is relevant to my readers. Neither Wellness or PetSmart are responsible for the content of this article.*

If there’s one thing I’ve learned as a pet parent to a high-energy dog, it’s that nothing keeps them down long. Not rain, not illness, not even blazing hot 95-degree summer days. Freya spends the better part of her afternoon and evening in a constant state of activity. She never stops moving. Never stops doing. While I’ve gotten used to her high energy levels, I worry about her when it’s crazy hot outside. If I can barely make it two feet out the door without feeling like I’m going to pass out from the heat, how can it be good for Freya to run around the backyard like she’s trying to win some imaginary race in her head?

Keeping Your High-Energy Dog Safe AND Satisfied in the Heat

Obviously, I can’t keep Freya locked up indoors all day long. Honestly, it’s not all that much cooler in here anyway, since we don’t have central air. Read on for my tips for keeping her safe in the sun, and keeping her satisfied with fun games & help from Wellness® CORE® RawRev™.

1. Wear her out indoors

While we can’t play with Freya non-stop during the day (otherwise we’d never get any work done!), we do try to wear her out indoors as much as possible on a super hot day. She loves to play “dot” (laser pointer) and “ball in the hall” (she has a special ball that I throw down the hall, she chases it, the name is a lot more clever than the game). Even though the house isn’t exactly cool, we have plenty of well-placed fans to make it feel less suffocating. I also get her (and Mocha, my not-so-high-energy pooch) plenty of new toys to tear apart. I buy them on clearance at PetSmart.

2. Give her a reason to stay inside

Pharaoh Hounds are very much “what’s in it for me” dogs. Everything from training to “just for fun” games has to have a very clear benefit for them. I don’t know about other high-energy dogs, but I’m guessing it’s the same? If you want your dog to stay inside and she wants to go outside, you have to make the indoors more appealing. I stock up on Freya’s favorite chews like you wouldn’t believe: new bones, bully sticks, pigs ears, and hooves (FYI, those last an eternity). She’s an aggressive chewer, and destroying a new bone keeps her busy AND still for a while. I bring them out during the worst part of the heat.

3. Fun with water

Freya LOVES attacking water almost as much as she loves chasing her laser pointer. We turn the hose on with a spray attachment and spray it up into the air to let her catch the water as it falls. When it’s super hot or she’s super dirty. She and Mocha are practically professional mud wrestlers. Alas, Mocha isn’t such a fan of the water. Freya, though, is a total water rat! Aside from getting her clean, it has the added benefit of cooling her down.

4. Play outdoor games at night

Freya’s day isn’t complete until she’s done a “dot” run. Basically, we point the laser from one end of the yard to the other and she runs like the wind. It’s really awesome to watch. Nighttime is the perfect time for her favorite physical activity for two reasons: you can actually see the dot and it’s not so blazing hot outside. Freya starts barking at us to play dot at around 6PM. She’s irritated by the fact that it stays light out longer, a sentiment that I actually share with her (I’m one of the very small part of the population with summer seasonal affective disorder and actually prefer the shorter winter days). Check out one of her dot runs! The video is a little grainy because it was dusk outside and my mom took it on her tablet.

5. Keep walks light and easy

We have a huge fenced-in yard and live on a very hilly street, so we don’t take as many walks as I’d like to with the dogs. My back just can’t handle the hills. I do try to take them down to the flat part of our development in the car, then stroll around that neighborhood a bit. During the hot days, I keep walks light and easy. Just a little jaunt around the lake or up and down one of the flatter roads. This is both for my safety and my dogs’. If you live in an equally challenging-to-walk neighborhood, consider doing the same. Drive to a flatter spot and stay close to your car in case you or your pet gets too hot to keep going.

6.Keep them hydrated

If you have a high-energy dog, you know that getting them to take time out of play for a drink isn’t easy. You would think that your dog’s basic needs would kick in and she’d say “gee, I’m thirsty, let me stop for a sip of water.” With Freya, fun beats function every time. We keep water bowls outside for her, but that doesn’t always work. Remember how I said she loves to attack water? Well, we spray the hose at the ground and let her attack the stream. She gets a drink, stays cool and has fun. We also sometimes have to point the laser pointer into her water bowl. As she goes to chase it, she thinks “oh, okay, I’ll grab a drink while I’m here.” I used to also have a plastic baby pool that I filled with water so it was conveniently located in the middle of the yard, but Freya and Mocha ate it. Well, they didn’t actually EAT it, but they pretty much destroyed it within a day.

7. Support their active lifestyle with high-quality food

While the right dog food isn’t going to keep your pooch cool, it’s definitely an important part of their active lifestyle and the “keeping them satisfied” part of the title! Wellness® CORE® RawRev™, available at PetSmart, is exactly what my high-energy dog needs. We’ve all heard about the benefits of a raw diet. Long story short, it’s closer to our canine companion’s ancestral diet and what they would eat in the wild. If you’ve done your research, I’m betting you’ve also read about the downside of trying to create a raw diet on your own. If you don’t get it just right, your dog loses out on important vitamins and other nutrients.

CORE RawRev makes it easy and safe to add raw to your dog’s diet. The combination of high-protein grain-free kibble and 100% raw meat pieces doesn’t just satisfy your dog’s cravings for a more ancestral-based diet, it also satisfies their nutritional requirements. The high protein content helps keep their bodies lean and their muscles toned, while the glucosamine and Chondroitin supports their joints. Oh, and it’s delicious! At least my dogs think so! Freya can barely even wait for me to get it out of the bag!

We give our cat Wellness food (and I believe my husband gets the grain-free CORE) and I told him to get the dog the same brand for dog food. That will make shopping easier! And we know we love the brand.

It is so important to exercise a high energy dog. We have a great dog park near by. It has a ton of shade to help keep the dogs cool. I like the little agility course they have. It is a great way to wear out my dog.

These are some great tips! I keep seeing news stories about dogs being left outside or in hot cars. It’s so sad. Definitely better to use caution and get your dog safe and happy, especially if you have a high energy dog.

We have a small breed dog and he is the laziest dog ever. It is a different story though when someone comes near the door. His high pitched bark and make your eardrums explode. I haven’t tried giving him this brand of dog food though. I will get s small bag first and make him try it